U.S. Senators Request Administration Increase Funding For Alzheimer’s

February 7, 2018

U.S. Senators urged President Trump to demonstrate his support by bolstering the funding request for Alzheimer’s in his fiscal 2019 budget request. The Senate plans to vote on the budget next month according to the Washington Examiner.

Funding would be distributed to the National Institutes of Health, which awards grants for medical research. NIH spends about $640 million a year on research. In comparison, the U.S. spends $259 billion a year caring for people with Alzheimer’s, including $175 billion for government-funded Medicare and Medicaid.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death, and its numbers are rising as the baby boomer generation ages. No effective prevention, treatment, or cure currently exists.